


Road to Recovery / AU

by space_wiz



Category: Marble Hornets
Genre: AU, Drug Use, Hurt/Comfort, I hate tagging, Kinda, M/M, Panic Attacks, Post-Marble Hornets, SO, Slow Burn, Take it as it is, also, and only recently got back onto, god i dont know how to TAG, i'll come back and tag it more later i guess, idk - Freeform, idk idk idk, mONTHS ago, oof, this is an au i made like, uhhhhh hi, well more than kinda but
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-21
Updated: 2019-09-08
Packaged: 2020-07-09 20:30:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,876
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19893904
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/space_wiz/pseuds/space_wiz
Summary: It's been a full year after the incidents of Marble Hornets. And Brian's been missing the whole while, he was presumed dead. Alex and Jay had moved out of state, all contact lost.Tim thought everything was getting better. Everything was fine.it was only a matter of time before he figured out it was just another lie.THESE WARNINGS APPLY:- Violence- Mentions of sickness- Delusions- (occasional) Detailed Nightmares- Panic attacks- Drug use (not heavy, but it's there)READ WITH CAUTION





	1. One

**Author's Note:**

> SO??? take my trash au i made so long ago, but only recently got motivated to work on again
> 
> its already written out on Wattpad so im just copying and pasting it from there

It's been a year. A year since Marble Hornets. A year since Brian went missing, a year since both Jay and Alex moved away, both to different states, or cities.

The year dragged on so agonizingly slow. Tim was trying to get better once again, he had taken up a job at a construction area. He had medication for the trauma he endured through all of 'Marble Hornets', just thinking about the name itself made him uneasy to his stomach. He had the medication for the depression, the insomnia and the psychotic episodes he was known to have.

He never kept in contact with a lot of people, sure he would talk to Jessica here and there, but they were never full, in depth conversations. It would usually be one or the other asking if they were okay, if they needed anything, or something of the sort. Again, never in depth. He rented a small apartment, living with his cat. She was a large Mainecoon calico mix, he named her Sweetpea. She was a good cat.

Tim was sprawled in bed, his cat curled into his side comfortably as the man stared at the dark ceiling, his hand running down the cat's back. He sighed as he looked over to the clock, 5:58 A.M, nearing six. Tim had managed to get some sleep before the nightmares had began to come back, so there was that, at least.  
He pushed himself into a sitting position with a groan and rubbed at his face with his hand, looking down at Sweetpea's small sleeping form. He rubbed her head before standing and flicking on the light, beginning to get ready for the day. He changed from his night clothes, quickly slipping into his work clothes, picking up his old flannel from the drawers beside him. He held the soft clothing tightly for a moment before he quickly set it back into the drawer; he sighed and closed the closet, leaving the room and turning off the light again.  
His feet tiredly wandered past the living room and to the kitchen, turning on the coffee maker and getting a mug. The sounds of the TV quietly droning on and coffee maker mixing together, it was relaxing. It reminded him of back when he had his old house, when him and the others used to hang out and work on the blooper roll for Alex's old film. But those days were gone, and Tim had to get over it soon.

With a sigh, he turned up the TV, the usual news played, political debates, news reports ranging from New Jersey to Pennsylvania and even to Ohio, what an odd mix. There was also word of 'Benedict Hall' closing down, the name alone just had a heavy presence to it, Tim shook his head with a heavy sigh and turned off the T.V, downing the rest of his coffee, he set the mug in the sink and picked up his work jacket, "Don't ruin anything, Sweetpea, I'll be back by 8." He called to his cat, not like she would answer back. But the idea just made him feel comfortable.

As the day carried on slowly, 8 o'clock was right around the corner, Tim finished up what he had started and stretched out once it finally was finished. He leaned over and took his jacket from the back of a chair and slipped it on, waving to his co-workers. All of whom responded with "See you tomorrow, Timothy" or "Later". So on so forth.

Tim passed through the door and headed for his truck, his breath visible in small clouds due to the chilly air, climbing into the vehicle with a huff, Tim adjusted the mirror and began to drive off. Back for home; as the man held the steering wheel carefully, his phone went off. That was weird. Nobody really texted him around this time, there was usually no reason too.

One text, two texts, then eventually seven texts, and a missed call. ' _Who is_ this _desperate_ _to_ _get a hold_ _of_ _me?_ ' Tim narrowed his eyes at the phone, which continued to go off. When he got sick of it he pulled into an old parking lot and picked up the phone, his eyes scrolling over text upon text upon text. There were lots of walls of text, seemingly... apologies?.. weird, strange things.. he eventually checked voice mail.

Tim nearly dropped his phone.

It was Jay's voice. And Alex's in the background... why were they calling him..?

_"Hey Tim, we're back in town, and.. we found somethi-.. someone else that you... might want to see. For yourself."_

_..._  
_What was he about to get_ _himself_ _into_ _**THIS** _ _time...?_


	2. Two

Someone Tim wanted to see?.. There were never a lot of people he wanted to see, and he never even kept in contact with most. So.. who would he want to see? Nevertheless, he started up the truck again, not before shooting.. Jay, a quick text, asking him where him and.. Alex, were. Tim let his head rest back on the seat for a moment as he waited f- _*ding!*_... there was no way he had responded **_that_ **quickly..

Looking down to the device, it was Jay alright, "down by Rosswood. near the tunnel." Tim's heart dropped into his stomach before he let out a groan, why did he agree to do this? He pulled out and started for the park, on other terms, he would've never excepted this. Cause God knows what would and could happen. But these were his.. old friends, probably not anymore, but they _were_ , and that's all Tim had on his mind right now. 

With a sigh, he pulled into the small parking lot near Rosswood, turning the truck off, getting out and slamming the door shut. He shot Jay another text and didn't have to wait for long for the other man to reply.

_"we can't leave this place right now, it's important. just come meet us at the tunnel."_

Jay's texts were strange, usually Jay would tell Tim what was so important; but this time the other man was hiding something, and Tim was regretting even _**thinking**_ it was a good idea to come out here..

But, he headed out there anyway, his work flashlight in hand, and a pocketknife hanging on the side of his pocket. 

Not only was this whole thing strange to him, but this entire time, something had been setting things off in his head; what was so important that Jay was able to text him, but not come out, find him and bring him back?

Tim's anxiety began to bounce quickly, were they dragging him out here to ambush him? He knows it's only been a year since everything has been over and done with, and there had been no signs of whatever had... had caused it all back then, no signs of it anywhere. But.. Tim couldn't rid himself of the fear.

Tim bit down on his tongue and exhaled through his nose, leaves crunching under his heavy work boots. The light's beam bouncing around in front of him, with his knife clutched tightly in his other hand.Making his way through the tall, skinny trees, he could faintly remember all of what had happened, he could remember what happened at the shed, barely, with Jay.

He remembered his leg being broken in here, somewhere, with a heavy block. He still shuddered every time the memory came back.

God, what time was it? Tim felt like he had been walking for hours.. when he caught sight of the top of the tunnel, his heart sunk, memories of all sorts flooding back so quickly and suddenly.. He took a deep breath, and headed for it, for a moment, he thought he heard... raspy yelling, carried by a light voice... it.. it sounded like Br-... no. It couldn't be. Brian was dead.

He looked in, peeking, hanging from the side, he could barely make out the two figures of Jay and Alex, someone tied up and tossed at their feet, a scrawny figure, thrashing, presumably to get out. Shouting profanities and many other things.

"WHEN I GET OUT OF THIS-" The figure screamed, their voice scratchy, maybe like they had been screaming for a while.. that voice was so familiar.. too familiar, almost, Tim continued to watch the figure scream and thrash, shout threats.

Jay looked over his shoulder, then took a double take, "Finally, Tim! What took you so long?!" "It's been a _while_ , since I've been in Rosswood! Cut me some slack." Jay just groaned, rolling his eyes, "Whatever, you're here now, that's all that matters-" He grabbed Tim's arm and ignored his protests, "You need to see this." Jay dragged him over to Alex and the figure.

Tim huffed and pulled his arm away from Jay, grumbling and looking down, shining the light onto the figure below, shining it into their eyes, Tim felt his heart stop while the figure hissed, trying to move away, "WATCH WHERE YOU'RE _POINTING_ THAT!" They yelled.

It.. It couldn't be, there was no way it was him. He- He was dead! How was he here? WHY was he here?! Couldn't he of just stayed dead? Stayed laid to rest?! It.. It wasn't possible. It wasn't, it WASN'T-

"HEY- YOU HEAR ME?!" The angry shout cut through, Alex had stepped closer to who was tied up, picked him up by the back of the ropes into a sitting position and shook him a bit. "let me GO YOU DICK! YOU THINK I FORGOT ABOUT YOU?!" He continued to shout, thrashing harder, "Shut up. If you know what's good for you." Alex shook him once, a bit harder, his own tone low and dangerous.

Tim looked at Jay, who was frowning, he looked at Tim, "..we're hoping it's just cause he.. he's back, maybe a bit spiteful.. hoping it's not permanent for him to be like this." Tim looked back at him... Brian was alive.. but why? His former best friend... nothing but an angry.. spirit? no, that couldn't be right..

Tim stepped closer, and it caused the man dressed in a dull hoodie to look up, his eyes filling with pure anger and his face forming into a scowl. "you... _YOU!_ " He screamed, causing Tim to flinch a bit, "god out of EVERYONE you are _THE **LAST**_ PERSON I WANTED TO SEE!" He continued.. something told Tim this wasn't exactly Brian.

The yelling man was now sitting on his own, "ESPECIALLY CONSIDERING WHAT YOU DID TO M-" He was cut off by nasty coughing, fresh blood starting to run from his nose, his once hard, angry face turned to one of regret, one of fear as he fell onto his chest, thrashing again, more desperate. He started tugging his wrists, trying to free them of the ropes they were stuck in. 

"get out get out gET OUT GET OUT _**GET OUT OF ME-**_ " He cried, his voice was pained now, his body shook violently. The three other men stepped back, the downed man now began spitting up blood, it still dripping from his nose as the hood fell onto his head.

Soon enough, he went unconscious, shaking coming to an abrupt end, but blood still leaking from his mouth and nose. Tim was quick to his side, crouching and turning him onto his side, it was safe to assume _this_ , was Brian.. and Brian's face held a pained expression, scared.. Tim looked over his shoulder slightly, "...how long? How long has he been... _that_ , way?"

"..." "..An hour." Alex spoke up, "And when he wakes up, it's probably going to be longer." He stepped over to Tim, who stayed crouching. "..Help me get him to my truck." "What? Tim, he could-" " ** _I said._** Help me get him, to my truck."

Alex and Jay were quiet, but nodded and helped Tim lift Brian, Tim held the man by the waist and put him over his shoulder, there was no way in hell Tim was leaving his best friend alone again. Not again. Not after what happened.

"Do you two have a place to stay?" Tim asked, they shook their heads, "You can stay at my place for the night. Renting a hotel room for the two of you would cost too much." "Tim-" "Listen, I know that.. it may not be the best time. Not after... not after that. We can talk this out in the morning, for now, you can stay at my place." Tim stopped them, they just nodded in silence, "You have your car nearby?" He questioned, "No, we.. took the bus." Jay answered, Tim nodded, "Okay, there should be room in my truck."

Upon making it to the truck, Brian was set on the left side of the truck, still unconscious. Alex and Tim hopped into the front, while Jay kept to himself in the back, looking over at Brian occasionally.

And with that, Tim pulled out of the lot, and started for his apartment.


	3. Three

Halfway to Tim's apartment, the men had just been riding in a heavy silence, the only noises being made were the occasional squeaks of leather against their jeans, a cough, sniffle or Brian's breathing. Had to make sure he was still.. semi-alive, back there.

The entire way there, Tim was lost in his thoughts. Brian was still tied up in the back there, his be-.. _former_ , best friend, who was by all rights _supposed_ to be _dead,_ was in the back of his truck. Unconscious. The two other people in his truck, both of which had dragged him into that hell, both one time after the other, were back in town. Not at each other's (or his, thankfully) throats.

This just... it wasn't right. It didn't make sense to him; A dead man. Not dead. In his truck. Two men. Who had lost contact with him, and cut all ties to this place. Back. Not a word of it spoken, probably not even between them.. but why now? Why was everyone coming back here so suddenly? 

Was it all just to mess with him again? '..im.' Play some sick game? What if that thing was still attached to one of the three in here?' '..im!' Some merciless God was up there, setting this all up again, waiting for the dominoes to fall right back in the same pattern. He gripped the steering wheel hard, his knuckles turning a concerning white. Well, if there was some.. sick, merciless God up there. Tim had only one thing to say to it. **Fu** \- 

**_"TIM!"_ **

The two shouts filled his ears, snapping him back to the real world and causing him to slam his foot on the break, nearly hitting right into the back of another car, suddenly, he was glad he decided to always take the old empty roads home... the driver in front of the truck sent a honk and the bird to Tim, before peeling out of there. Everyone in the car just sat there, not moving and silent.

The road was empty once again; Tim still sat there gripping the wheel with his pale, pale knuckles, his heartbeat pounded in his ears as his breath began to fight. Jittery, noisy, probably only to him though. He had his eyes on the road the whole time but maybe- maybe not? Oh God he can't remember. Tim almost missed the blood starting to ooze down his palms from his nails digging in so deep. A firm hand on his wrist pulled him back to the real world, voices starting to tune in again.

"Tim," It was Alex's voice, "Don't forget to breathe, man, you're hyperventilating." Tim inhaled deeply through his nose, wanting nothing more than to pull his wrist from Alex's hand, god just the feeling of him touching his wrist made him gag inside. ' _you caused it, you caused it and now we're here._ ' Tim thought bitterly, but said nothing as he sighed through his teeth.

He allowed his hands to loosen up and he pulled them back, Alex removed his hand as Tim did so, the dark haired man wiped his bloody palms on the thighs of his jeans. "What time is it." Tim watched in the rear-view mirror as Jay's phone lit his face, "Almost eleven," Tim sighed, mentally cursing to himself. He was really hoping his neighbors hadn't decided that the lack of noise was a concerning enough reason to call somebody.

He had a lovely old couple he could be glad enough to call neighbors, but it seemed, just like him in a way, they were easily paranoid if something were to be off even in the slightest. He rubbed his face and pinched the bridge of his nose. He's normally home by 9:30, 10 at the latest. "Okay, thanks." He mutters, taking his foot off the break slowly and starting with the drive again. The silence once again heavy and uncomfortable.

  


Upon pulling into the parking lot outside of the apartment complex, Tim was nervously eyeing the area around; well, no sheriff cars, they'd be fine.. Slipping from his seat belt and out of the truck, he made his way over to Brian's side, opening the door and letting his eyes sweep over the unconscious male once, twice, three times. Observing all the details of him. The blood had been well enough dried at this point, his face nothing but a peaceful state now, dark circles under the other man's eyes certainly stood out against his tan, freckled face.

He, once again, sighed through his nose, he seemed to be doing that a lot, he noticed. He wrapped his arms around his former friend's waist and hoisted him onto his shoulder, his hands still weakly tied behind his back, Tim wondered how these ropes managed to hold with how old and worn they looked.

Cautiously walking into his apartment with the other men, he unlocked the door, ushering them in and closing it with his foot as his cat suddenly came trotting out yelling. She caught the attention of both Alex and Jay, causing the one clad in green to pipe up, "I never knew you had a cat, Tim." "Yeah, well, when you don't keep in contact.." "Right, right."

"So where are you gonna keep him til he wakes up?" Alex questioned, Tim paused to think as he set the other male on the sofa, "Well, my room is out of the question," "For good reason." "I would say the spare room i have, but.. I don't know. I don't- want to keep him in the open." Tim stood there for a bit, thinking on it before ultimately deciding the spare room would do just fine.

"What type of rope did you use?" Tim questioned, grabbing a chair from the dining room and pulling it to the spare room, "Just.. some flimsy one we found laying around in the tunnel." Jay rubbed the back of his head, Tim looked at them both, "How did he not break out? This thing looks like it would barely hold _you_ , Jay." He noted, tugging at the rope around Brian's arms and wrists. It was on his ankles too, "How much of it was laying around?" "We kinda cut it up. Needed to have something that would keep at least most of his limbs in place."

Tim muttered to himself, "Okay, kitchen top drawer has zip ties, one of you grab that pack for me, will you?" Alex was off to grab it while Jay followed behind Tim. When the pair made it into the spare room, Tim set the chair down and propped Brian against the wall, pulling out his pocket knife and cutting at the rope. Alex came wandering in, the baggie of zip ties held tightly in his hand; the three froze when Brian began shifting, Tim just had to cut the rope around Brian's wrists, then quickly move him and tie him to the chair. He should still have time to do that.

And he did.

Brian didn't wake up, but he was showing signs of coming back to reality again, so that's all that mattered at that minute. Brian's ankles were tightly tied to the legs of the chair, as his arms and wrists were tied to the back bars of it. He had room to move his torso, but he wouldn't be able to break out so easily. Tim stepped back to check over his work again, nodding and seemingly content with how it looked, with that, he ushered Jay and Alex out of the room.

"Okay, he's gonna be stuck there pretty tight. We should be fine if he wakes up like.. _that_ , again." Tim mused, looking back to the dark room, door open by three inches. Jay nodded while Alex just shifted. "You can.. sleep out here, I guess." Tim added, looking around the small living room, "Not.. any other rooms, sorry bout that." He muttered. Jay looked at the arm chair, "Oh it's fine. I can fall back into these same habits," He smiled, that one smile that always spoke so many words.

Tim let out an amused sigh, "Alright, well, g'night, we'll talk about this in the morning." The raven haired man muttered, turning on his heel and heading down the hallway as the others waved him off.

  


  


  


He opens his eyes to the dark, the only bit of light is from the cracked door, he can't move. zip tied. stuck. where is he?

it's dark. it's very dark.

this isn't the same place. it's not the tunnel. it's not one of those abandoned places he always hid out in.

where is he.

_where is he?_

_**WHERE IS HE?** _

  



	4. Four

The sound of things clinking together in the kitchen is what awoke Tim, rays of sunlight just barely peeking through the curtained window, the laying male had a brief panic, who was in his house? He quickly sat himself up as he grabbed the pocket knife he always had laying on his bedside table.

There were glasses clinking, sounds of things shuffling and muttering; Tim peeked around the wall and readied himself, in case he did need to attack. The lights were still off, and there seemed to be someone hunched in the armchair, Tim shuffled backwards when the other came out from the kitchen with empty hands and one of them running through their mess of hair.

It took Tim a second to realize that who he was about to jump on, was just who he brought back to his place last night, he shuffled further into the dark hallway, rubbed his eyes with a hand and pocketed the little knife, walking back out to the scene. "Uh, good morning?" He quirked an eyebrow as the two men in the living room jumped and looked at him.

"Oh, hey Tim." Jay waved, hissing and pulling his hand to his chest, Tim furrowed his brow, "What's up?" He asked Jay, pointing at his hand, "Oh, your cat, uh.. your cat got kinda rowdy and got me," Tim made a silent 'oh' as he looked to Alex, "And, I assume you were looking for the kit?" Alex nodded, "Well, it's not in my kitchen." "That's where Jay keeps his so I just- **_assumed_** , that.. y'know." Tim nodded, "Yeah, well, I guess let me grab it and then we can.. talk about what's going on."

Tim turned before the other two could answer and started searching through the cabinets in his bathroom. Now that he was more.. awake, he could process all that was going on. More or less, he pulled out the kit and headed back for the living room. Where the lights had been turned on, and where Jay and Alex were quietly talking to each other, Tim cleared his throat on instinct and the two looked up again.

The room was quiet as Tim patched Jay's hand up, "Alright, so, first things first. What are you two even _doing_ back here?" He finally asked, finishing the work on Jay's hand and closing the med-kit. Jay and Alex looked nervously at each other, as if having a mental conversation and debating their words carefully. "Well.. to be fair.. we, don't really know." Jay started, Tim went to say something before Jay cut him off, "There was something.. off, about my town. People kept getting lost in the woods or.. worse." He added, "Something.. Something drew me out of there and back to here."

Alex just shifted quietly, Tim's eyes widened as he stood up, he then turned to look Alex in the face, squinting; his mouth opening to speak but only hanging open for a moment, hesitant, not wanting to speak for a moment before he forced the words out, "Why did you come here?"

Alex squirmed in his seat, his gaze pointed at the ground as he opened his mouth to speak, his eyes searching for something, an excuse? An actual reason? Tim couldn't tell with the way those deep eyes looked around. A long sigh drew from his mouth as he finally went to speak, "..well, I-" Though, he didn't get very far before they all heard what sounded like.. snarling? From the other room, the sound of a chair falling over and someone or something barking out a yell at it; the three men stared at the hallway, somewhat dreading looking into the room. Tim rushed away to the room only when he heard loud thumping against the wall, the other two following quickly.

He opens his eyes again, after falling and being trapped against the chair he had been restrained too, it was dark in this room, how was he able to tell he was trapped though? The restraints might not even be that tight and-.. nope, no those are real tight. Okay, that's out of the question..

He had probably alerted them, he knew they were awake again. It was hard to miss with all their loud movements and voices. He knew his cry was loud, it managed to break through his own thoughts so it _must've_ been loud, right?

He flailed, trying to rip his wrists free, or his ankles, there was a window on the wall a few feet away, if he could just free himself he could leave, leave again before he caused something-- before he brought that THING back, he knows its still following him, it's followed him for the entire year he was announced 'dead'. He's surprised he's NOT dead, all things considered...

He let out another snarl as he thrashed to the side, the chair teetering, he let out a soft string of 'no's as it fell over onto it's side, his head bouncing a bit on the carpeted floor. He laid there for a bit, room spinning; god this was pathetic. He closes his eyes and sighs, inhales deeply through his nose, and sighs harshly through his teeth again, he does this for a few minutes. He's angry.

With a growl, he reels back his leg as best he can, and kicks down, the sound of a zip-tie breaking is enough to make his eyes shoot open again and look down. He can move his leg around freely again. One step closer to freedom. But that doesn't stop his anger. It continues to bubble in him, he grits his teeth and squeezes his eyes shut tightly, his fists balling up and the world around him just goes. Mute. He can feel the vibrations of people stamping down the hall against his face, it irritates him further. 

When he opens his eyes again, he can feel his brow furrowed angrily, it hurts his face slightly. His olive colored eyes trail up to see the three men he had interacted with the previous night and he feels his lips curl into a snarl, one of warning maybe? A snarl, anyways. He can see their lips moving but he doesn't bother to try and tune back in, he doesn't care what any of them have to say right now. Not one of them. Not Jay, not Alex, why would he care what the man, who ruined his life and many others, would have to say?

He doesn't even bother to care what Tim has to say, his o-... _Brian's_ , old best friend.

"Is he even awake?" Alex hushed murmur comes, as they step into the room; seeing the figure of (who they would presume) Brian on the ground, it seems he managed to break.. somewhat, loose. His breathing was harsh, probably from the struggle he had against the zip-ties. As they step over to him, they can see his eyes are closed, and his face is angry. Like if he were free, he would attack one of them with little to no hesitation, angry.

"Should... we try to wake him up?" Jay asks, when the man even _spoke_ that idea out loud, Brian's eyes opened, but they don't look like Brian's eyes. Not in the slightest... they aren't warm, or friendly for that matter. They were slit, untrustworthy.

"Oh, good, you are awake," Tim sighs, crouching, this causes Brian's face to scrunch into one of disgust, he tried to push himself back, Tim mutters to himself, "Look, I'm not gonna do anything alright?" Brian has no reaction, "..." Tim quirks an eyebrow, "..are you even listening to me?" No reaction, again, but Brian's eyes drift to the right, not making contact with anyone anymore, "I'll take that as a no.." Tim grumbles, pushing himself up and crossing his arms.

A hand reaches onto the back of the chair, causing Brian to snap from whatever trance he was in and shoot his head around to see who was touching the chair, he almost looked like he was gonna bite someone. And he almost did, Jay had to reel his hand back quickly before Brian managed to scrape his teeth against the skin of Jay's hand. Due to the sudden release of the chair, the chair went clattering to the ground again, all in the room flinched as Brian's head hit furiously against the floor, and like that; his voice returned, "OW- YOU MORON!" He barked, Jay flinching against it, "DON'T JUST _GRAB_ SOMEONE LIKE THAT IF YOU'RE JUST GONNA DROP THEM AGAIN!" "HEY!" Alex cut in, causing Brian to look at him with angered eyes, "YOU'RE the one who CAUSED him to drop you, you SON OF A BIT-"

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Tim barks, he's loud, it shakes the paintings on the wall slightly. Both Alex and Brian look at him, surprised. Jay looks about ready to have a panic attack with how loud the room was, Tim couldn't blame him. "That's enough from _both_ of you," He adds, and he looks at Alex, "Take Jay with you and try to help him calm down," "Ti-" " _Now._ " Alex nods and leads a shaking Jay out of the room, Tim watches. Now it's just him and Brian, a tense silence resting over them both; Tim can feel Brian staring daggers, and Tim sighs again, making eye contact with Brian who seemed to be taken aback and quickly look away.

"So what do _you_ want?" Brian asks, roughly, not expecting anything kind. He didn't deserve it. "..well," Tim reaches over and turns on the light, noticing how Brian flinches at it, he also pulls over a stool from beside a little table, "Heard you fall, so we came in to check on you, but you obviously don't seem bothered." Tim notes, looking Brian up and down. There's more difference from how he last remembered Brian, but... that's expected.

Brian tenses at Tim's answer, a low chuckle escaping him and he turns his head, staring at his lap, but also at Tim from the corner of his eye, "..you.. were worried?" He mumbles, continuing before Tim can answer, "that's cute.. you're worried over whatever _this_ is," "This" meaning Brian, "That's surprising, Timothy." He suddenly perks up, sitting up and leaning back on the chair, his head hanging loosely over the side of it, Tim sits straight, an eyebrow raised and Brian smirks, "I mean, really, it is. You're _**worried**_ for someone who's been affected by whatever it is that plagued you for your entire life, let alone you're _trusting_ him! You're trusting someone who, again, has been _affected_ by whatever brought you to where you are now! You're trusting the man who, _single-handedly_ , ruined _YOUR_ life further, along with many others! You're _**TRUSTING**_ the man who _**DRAGGED**_ you _**DEEPER**_ into the mess than you were already in!" Brian pointed out, some sort of grin on his face, but.. it wasn't his. Not entirely, anyway.

Tim is quiet, "You know it, too. Don't you?" Brian chuckles, then gets quieter, looking up at the ceiling, "...man, I don't know how you do it, Tim. You always surprised me. You know?" He mumbles, this time, Tim is taken aback, "..Where are you going with this?" and Brian shrugs.

"I mean.. it's easy to predict everyone, read them like an open book anymore, it's almost easy enough to know what they're gonna say, how they'll react.." The man explains, "But you?... Heheh, it's hard to read you." He's reached a low tone of voice, it's soft, smooth. Not as.. mean, scratchy sounding as before. There's Brian...

Tim shrugs, knowing Brian can't see him, but he does it anyway, "I guess it just kinda gets like that after a few years." He mutters, looking at the wall, he receives a 'hm' from Brian, and the two fall into a silence again, not as tense as before but- not comfortable.

Tim looks over Brian, the man's a lot more skinny, it's noticeable even through his sweatshirt, his face is more sunken in and looks more worn, eternally tired. He looks.. beaten, ran down, just.. _tired_. Tim wonders what happened to his former friend... Brian must've noticed, "Pathetic sight, huh." "No, no not at all Bri, it's just..what happened to you..?" Brian shrugs again, looking at the wall away from Tim when he spoke that old nickname, "I wish I knew."

It's quiet for maybe ten more minutes, "..hey," Tim looks up at Brian, "Yeah?" "..can i get out of these ties now?" "...I don't know, Brian. Can we trust you not to attack when you _are_ free?" Brian quiets, "I.. I can't make any promises. But.. I can try." Tim's content, "I'll- I'll leave right after you free me, too, it'd be better anyway. You wouldn't have to linger in constant fear of me snapping again." Brian adds, not surprised when Tim doesn't respond. He feels the ties come loose from his wrists, the feeling followed up to his arms. He moved those out from behind him, they were sore.

The one on his left ankle let up as well, and he moved that leg around, "Thanks," He mutters, standing up and teetering slightly, "I.. I guess I leave now?" "No." Brian seems surprised, "..Wha-" "I said no. I just found you, and I'm not losing you again, Brian." The two lock eyes, and for a moment you can see Brian's start to water, "..heheh.. it's always so hard to read you, tim.." He mumbles.


End file.
